Trusted device identification and event monitoring

ABSTRACT

A method of event monitoring includes identifying a monitored event that produces a physical phenomenon that is observable and identifiable. The method includes identifying a particular input that is representative of the physical phenomenon and that suggests an occurrence of the monitored event. The method includes communicating, from the first computing device, to a second computing device that includes a sensor at least a portion of the particular input that is used for recognition of the monitored event in an environment of the second computing device by the sensor. The method includes receiving, at the first computing device from the second computing device, an event message that indicates the particular input is observed by the sensor. In response to reception of the event message, the method includes generating an alarm message that indicates the occurrence of the monitored event is observed in the environment of the second computing device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/586,636, filed Dec. 30, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,684,433, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The embodiments discussed herein are related to trusted deviceidentification and event monitoring.

BACKGROUND

Property and individuals may be vulnerable to the occurrence of eventsthat may benefit from swift resolution and interaction of an owner or acaregiver. The occurrence of the events may produce a particularreaction. For example, when a water heater ruptures, an audio alarm maybe triggered or when a child is injured, she may cry or scream. However,the owner or the caregiver may not be present to observe the particularreaction. Accordingly, the occurrence of the events may go unnoticed,which may exacerbate a consequence of the event.

The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments thatsolve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such asthose described above. Rather, this background is only provided toillustrate one example technology area where some embodiments describedherein may be practiced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example operating environment in which aprotection system may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of affiliated individual identificationthat may be implemented in the operating environment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of event monitoring that may beimplemented in the operating environment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example computing system configured for eventmonitoring;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a flowchart of an example method of eventmonitoring; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another example method of event monitoring.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Some embodiments described herein relate to trusted deviceidentification and event monitoring by one or more trusted devices.Generally, in some embodiments one or more individuals are identifiedfrom affiliations between the individuals and a user. The devicesassociated with the individuals, which are referred to herein as trusteddevices, are then incorporated into an event monitor network. Theindividuals identified as being affiliated with a user may be referredto as affiliated individuals in the present disclosure. The eventmonitor network is configured to monitor for an occurrence of amonitored event. The event monitor network may be specific to the user.

After incorporation into the event monitor network, the trusted devicesmay then be implemented to monitor for a particular input that suggeststhe occurrence of the monitored event and to alert the user when theparticular input is observed. The user may then become aware of themonitored event and take corrective action. Additionally, in someembodiments, location data of the trusted devices may be used todetermine a location of the monitored event that a source of themonitored event is an event location associated with the monitoredevent.

The affiliated individuals may be identified from a myriad ofinteractions between the affiliated individuals and the user. Forexample, interactions via social media, financial transactions, contactlists in a user device associated with the user, similar locationpatterns between the affiliated individuals and the user, or somecombination thereof may be used to identify the affiliated individuals.The interactions may be identified using application program interface(API) calls, a web crawler, or any other applicable data surveying orrequesting operation.

In an example embodiment, the affiliated individuals may includeneighbors that are identified via rent payments to a common landlord viaa financial server or maintenance workers who perform maintenance at ornear the property. The trusted devices may include smartphones of theaffiliated individuals, and the monitored event may include a waterheater rupture, which may trigger an audio alarm. The smartphones may beconfigured to receive general audio input via the microphone of thesmartphones as the affiliated individuals use and transport thesmartphones. The smartphones may be further configured to recognize theaudio alarm from the general audio input. In response to observing theaudio alarm, the smartphones may generate an event message andcommunicate it to a smartphone of the user.

As another example, a method includes identifying individuals that areaffiliated with a user. The method includes incorporating trusteddevices associated with the identified individuals into an event monitornetwork that is configured to monitor for an occurrence of a monitoredevent. The method includes identifying a particular input that suggeststhe occurrence of the monitored event. The method includes communicatingto the trusted devices, an input sample that is used for recognition ofthe particular input from general input that is measured by sensors ofthe trusted devices. The method includes receiving from at least one ofthe trusted devices, an event message that indicates the particularinput is observed by at least one of the sensors. In response to theevent message, the method includes communicating to a user interface ofa user device associated with the user, an alarm message that indicatesthe occurrence of the monitored event.

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates an example operatingenvironment 100 in which an example protection system 150 may beimplemented, according to at least one embodiment. The protection system150 may include an event monitor network 120. The event monitor network120 may be configured to monitor for an occurrence of an event (a“monitored event”) and that is specific to a user 102. In particular,the event monitor network 120 may include one or more trusted devices104. In the illustrated example, the monitor network 120 is depicted asincluding a trusted device 104A and a trusted device 104B. The trusteddevices 104 may be configured to monitor general input for a particularinput that suggests the occurrence of the monitored event. In responseto observation of the particular input, the trusted devices 104 maycommunicate an event message to a user device 110 and/or a system server124. The event message or some message derived therefrom may inform theuser 102 of the occurrence of the monitored event via the user device110.

The operating environment 100 of FIG. 1 may further include a socialmedia server 126, a vendor server 130, a financial server 128, and acommunication network 122. The trusted devices 104, the user device 110,the system server 124, the social media server 126, the vendor server130, and the financial server 128 (collectively, environment components)may communicate information and data via the communication network 122.One or more of the components of the operating environment 100(“environment components”) may communicate information and data relatedto event monitoring. For example, the trusted devices 104, the userdevice 110, the system server 124, or some combination thereof, may beconfigured to perform operations related to event monitoring. Each ofthe environment components is briefly described in the followingparagraphs.

The communication network 122 may include a wired network, a wirelessnetwork, or any combination thereof. The communication network 122 mayinclude any suitable configuration or configurations including a starconfiguration, token ring configuration, or other configurations. Thecommunication network 122 may include a local area network (LAN), a widearea network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet), and/or other interconnecteddata paths across which multiple devices may communicate. In someembodiments, the communication network 122 may include a peer-to-peernetwork. The communication network 122 may also be coupled to or includeportions of a telecommunications network that may enable communicationof data in a variety of different communication protocols. In someembodiments, the communication network 122 includes BLUETOOTH®communication networks and/or cellular communication networks forsending and receiving data including via short messaging service (SMS),multimedia messaging service (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP),direct data connection, wireless application protocol (WAP), e-mail, andthe like.

The vendor server 130 may include a hardware server that includes aprocessor, memory, and network communication capabilities. The vendorserver 130 may be configured for communication with one or more otherenvironment components via the communication network 122.

The vendor 140 may include any entity that may be engaged in someeconomic activity such as offering for sale goods or services. In someembodiments, the vendor 140 may include a merchant, a landlord, aservice providing entity, etc. The vendor server 130 may be associatedwith a vendor 140. For example, an association between the vendor server130 and the vendor 140 may include enabling or facilitating economicactivities of the vendor 140 via the vendor server 130, storage ofrecords of financial transactions of the vendor 140 at the vendor server130, enabling access to records of financial transactions of the vendor140 via the vendor server 130, hosting by the vendor server 130 awebsite of the vendor 140, general ownership or operation of the vendorserver 130 by the vendor 140, and communicating information and data bythe vendor 140 via the vendor server 130 to and from other environmentcomponents.

In some embodiments, the user 102 may execute a financial transactionwith the vendor 140, which may be executed via the vendor server 130 insome instances. Additionally, a record of a financial transaction withthe vendor 140 may be stored on or accessed via the vendor server 130.In these and other embodiments, individuals 116A and 116B (generally,individuals 116 or individual 116) may execute a financial transactionwith the vendor 140 via the vendor server 130. Additionally, a record ofa financial transaction with the vendor 140 may be stored on or accessedvia the vendor server 130.

The financial server 128 may include a hardware server that includes aprocessor, memory, and network communication capabilities. The financialserver 128 may be configured for communication with one or more otherenvironment components via the communication network 122.

The financial server 128 may enable financial transactions by the user102 and the individuals 116 with the vendor 140 and between the user 102and the individuals 116. For example, the financial server 128 mayinclude information related to one or more accounts 144 that may bemanaged by a financial services institution 129. The accounts 144 may beheld by the user 102, the individuals 116, and the vendor 140. In someembodiments, the financial server 128 may enable transfers of fundsbetween the accounts 144 or to accounts managed by other institutions(e.g., banks) that may be held by the user 102, the individuals 116,and/or the vendor 140. For example, to purchase a good from the vendor140, the user 102 may transfer funds from one of the accounts 144 heldby the user 102 to another of the accounts 144 held by the vendor 140.Similarly, to pay a first individual 116A, the user 102 may transferfunds from one of the accounts 144 held by the user 102 to another ofthe accounts 144 held by the first individual 116A.

The financial server 128 may include transaction records 146. Thetransaction records 146 may record parties (e.g., the vendor 140, theuser 102, the individuals 116) involved in a transaction, a date of atransaction, an amount of funds transferred in a transaction, theaccounts 144 involved in a transaction, other accounts linked to theaccounts 144 involved in a transaction, other transaction details, orsome combination thereof. In some embodiments the transaction records146 or some subset of the information contained therein may be accessedvia the financial server 128.

The social media server 126 may include a hardware server that includesa processor, memory, and network communication capabilities. In theillustrated implementation, the social media server 126 is configured tocommunicate via the communication network 122 with the other environmentcomponents.

The social media server 126 may be configured to support a socialnetwork. The social network may include a social structure in which theuser 102, the individuals 116, the vendor 140, the financial servicesinstitution 129 and/or multiple other entities may be connected by acommon feature. The common feature may include relationships orconnections such as friendship, family, work, an interest, and the like.The common features may be provided by the social media server 126. Forexample, the social media server 126 may be configured to provideexplicitly defined relationships and relationships implied by socialconnections between online users. The relationships and/or the commonfeatures may form a social graph in the social network. In someexamples, the social graph may reflect a mapping of the online users andhow they may be related.

The social network may enable or provide interfaces that enable varioussocial network activities. For example, the social network may provide adata feed for one or more users of the social network in which one ormore of the users may post messages or media, the social network mayenable individuals to be tagged in photographs and videos posted on thesocial network, and the social network may provide an invitationinterface in which the users may collectively or individually inviteother users to calendar events and receive RSVPs to the calendar events.

In addition, the social network may provide payment features that mayenable the users to submit payments via the social network. In someembodiments, the social media server 126 may interface with thefinancial server 128 and/or the vendor server 130 to enable execution offinancial transactions from the social network.

The social media server 126 may be responsive to data requests such asapplication programming interface (API) calls. The data requests mayrequest data related to one of the users and the social networkactivities associated with the corresponding user.

The trusted devices 104 and the user device 110 may include computingdevices that may include a processor, memory, and network communicationcapabilities. The trusted devices 104 and the user device 110 may beconfigured for communication with one or more other environmentcomponents via the communication network 122. Some examples of thetrusted devices 104 and the user device 110 include a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile telephone, a smartphone, apersonal digital assistant (“PDA”), a mobile e-mail device, a portablegame player, a portable music player, smart wearable technology, or anyother applicable electronic device capable of accessing thecommunication network 122.

Each of the trusted devices 104 may be associated with one or more ofthe individuals 116. An association between the trusted devices 104 andthe individuals 116 may include ownership or regular operation of thetrusted devices 104 by the individuals 116.

The trusted devices 104 may each include a trusted device protectionmodule 106 (hereinafter, “TD module” 106). For example, in theillustrated example, the trusted device 104A may include a TD module106A and the trusted device 104B may include a TD module 106B. In someembodiments, the TD modules 106 may include code and routines configuredto enable their respective trusted device 104 to monitor for monitoredevents. Additionally or alternatively, the TD module 106 may beimplemented using hardware including a processor, a microprocessor(e.g., to perform or control performance of one or more operations), afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), or an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC). In some other instances, the TD module 106may be implemented using a combination of hardware and software.

In some embodiments, the TD modules 106 may be configured to incorporatetheir respective trusted devices 104 into the event monitor network 120.After incorporation into the event monitor network 120, the TD modules106 may be configured to receive one or more input samples. The inputsamples may include data or information that may be used for recognitionof one or more particular inputs that suggest occurrence of monitoredevents. For example, a particular input may include an audio alarm, avocal expression, a visual alarm, a vibration, a visual display, or somecombination thereof. Accordingly, the input samples may include a sampleof the audio alarm, a sample of the vocal expression, a sample of thevisual alarm, etc. of the particular input.

The trusted devices 104 be configured to measure general input (e.g.,via one or more sensors included therein). For example, the trusteddevices 104 may be configured to measure sound and/or to record video.The TD module 106 may be configured to direct its respective trusteddevice 104 to measure the general input and the TD module 106 may beconfigured to compare the general input to the input samples. Inresponse to a relationship between the general input and the inputsample being above a particular threshold, the TD module 106 maydetermine that the general input includes one of the particular inputsand may generate an event message that indicates the occurrence of amonitored event that may correspond to the observed particular input. Insome embodiments, the respective trusted device 104 may be configured tocommunicate the event message to the user device 110 and/or the systemserver 124 in response to generation of the event message.

Similar to the association of the trusted devices 104 with respect tothe individuals 116, the user device 110 may be associated with the user102. An association between the user device 110 and the user 102 mayinclude ownership or regular operation of the user device 110 by theuser 102. For example, a message communicated to the user device 110 maybe intended for the user 102.

The user device 110 may include a user protection module 108(hereinafter, “user module” 108). The user module 108 may include codeand routines configured to enable the user device 110 to receivenotification of monitored events. Additionally or alternatively, theuser module 108 may be implemented using hardware including a processor,a microprocessor (e.g., to perform or control performance of one or moreoperations), a FPGA, or an ASIC. In some other instances, the usermodule 108 may be implemented using a combination of hardware andsoftware. Some additional details of the user module 108 are providedelsewhere herein.

The system server 124 may include a hardware server that includes aprocessor, memory, and network communication capabilities. In theillustrated implementation, the system server 124 is configured tocommunicate via the communication network 122 with the other environmentcomponents.

The system server 124 may include a system protection module 118(hereinafter, “system module” 118). The system module 118 may includecode and routines for monitoring for and notification of monitoredevents. Additionally or alternatively, the system module 118 may beimplemented using hardware including a processor, a microprocessor(e.g., to perform or control performance of one or more operations), aFPGA, or an ASIC. In some other instances, the system module 118 may beimplemented using a combination of hardware and software.

The individuals 116 that are associated with the trusted devices 104 maybe affiliated with the user 102. As used herein an affiliation betweenthe individuals 116 and the user 102 may include a financialaffiliation, a geographic affiliation, an employee/employer affiliation,and the like. Because the affiliation between the individuals and theuser 102, the trusted devices 104 of the individuals 116 may be wellsuited for observation of monitored events. For example, the individuals116 with a geographic affiliation with the user 102 such as being aneighbor may be geographically close to property of the user 102, whichmay facilitate observation of the property and corresponding monitoredevents that may occur on the property.

In some embodiments, the system module 118 may be configured to identifyone or more individuals (e.g., the individuals 116) that are affiliatedwith the user 102. After the individuals 116 are identified, the systemmodule 118 may incorporate the trusted devices 104 associated with theidentified, affiliated individuals 116 into the event monitor network120.

Additionally, the system module 118 may be configured to identify one ormore particular inputs that suggest the occurrences of one or moremonitored events. For example, if the monitored events include aruptured water heater that triggers an audio alarm, then the systemmodule 118 may identify the audio alarm as the particular input thatsuggests a rupture of the water heater.

The system module 118 may be configured to communicate one or more inputsamples to the trusted devices 104. As discussed above, the one or moreinput may be used for recognition of one or more particular inputs fromgeneral input that may be measured by the trusted devices 104.

The system module 118 may be configured to receive an event message thatmay be generated by one or more of the TD modules 106. The event messagemay indicate the particular input is observed trusted devices 104 orsensors included therein.

In response to reception of the event message, the system module 118 maybe configured to communicate an alarm message to the user device 110.The alarm message may indicate the occurrence of the monitored eventsuggested by the observed particular input. The alarm message may becommunicated to the user module 108 and/or to a user interface of a userdevice 110.

In the depicted embodiment the protection system 150 includes the systemmodule 118, the TD module 106, and the user module 108. One or more ofthe operations attributed herein to the system module 118 may beperformed by the user module 108 and vice versa. Additionally, in someembodiments, one or more operations attributed to the TD module 106 maybe performed by the user module 108 or the system module 118 and one ormore operations attributed to the user module 108 or the system module118 may be performed by the TD module 106. For example, in someembodiments, the user module 108 may receive the event message. The usermodule 108 may then generate an alarm message communicate the alarmmessage to a user interface of a user device 110.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the protection system 150 may omitthe system module 118 or the user module 108. In these embodiments, alloperations attributed to the system module 118 may be performed by theuser module 108 or vice versa.

In the operating environment 100, memory in one or more of theenvironment components may be similar to memory 406 described withreference to FIG. 4, processors in one or more of the environmentcomponents may be similar to a processor 404 described with reference toFIG. 4, and network communication capabilities of one or more of theenvironment components may be provided by a communication unit 402described with reference to FIG. 4.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the operatingenvironment 100 without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. Specifically, embodiments depicted in FIG. 1 include twotrusted devices 104 associated with two individuals 116, one user device110 associated with one user 102, one system server 124, one financialserver 128, one vendor server 130, and one social media server 126. Thepresent disclosure may apply to operating environments that may includeone or more trusted devices 104 associated with one or more individuals116, one or more user devices 110 associated with one or more users 102,one or more system servers 124, one or more financial servers 128, oneor more vendor servers 130, one or more social media servers 126, orsome combination thereof.

Moreover, the separation of various components in the embodimentsdescribed herein is not meant to indicate that the separation occurs inall embodiments. It may be understood with the benefit of thisdisclosure that the described components may be integrated together in asingle component or separated into multiple components. For example, insome embodiments the system server 124 and the financial server 128 maybe a single server.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of affiliated individual identification200 that may be implemented in the operating environment 100 of FIG. 1.FIG. 2 includes the social media server 126, the vendor server 130, thefinancial server 128, and the protection system 150 of FIG. 1. Although,FIG. 2 illustrates only one individual 116 and one trusted device 104,embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to one individual116 and/or one trusted device 104. While the communication network 122is omitted from FIG. 2, it may be understood with the benefit of thisdisclosure that communication between the social media server 126, thevendor server 130, the financial server 128, and the protection system150 may be via the communication network 122 of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2, the system module 118 includes a network module 202 and amonitor module 204. The network module 202 may perform one or moreoperations of the affiliated individual identification. The monitormodule 204 may perform one or more operations of event monitoring, somedetails of which are provided with reference to FIG. 3.

As discussed above, one or more operations attributed herein to thesystem module 118 may be performed by the user module 108. For instance,in some embodiments, the user module 108 may include one or both of thenetwork module 202 and the monitor module 204.

The affiliated individual identification may be based on data thatindicates an affiliation between the individual 116 and the user 102.Thus, the network module 202 may be configured to access and/or requestthe data and to receive the data.

The network module 202 may be further configured to determine based onthe data whether an affiliation exists between the individual 116 andthe user 102. For example, the network module 202 may include one ormore data thresholds, above which an affiliation is deemed to exist.

Additionally, the network module 202 may be configured to determine atype of the affiliation based on the data. For example, a payment to theindividual 116 from the user 102 each Friday night may indicate anemployee/employer affiliation.

In the depicted affiliated individual identification 200, the affiliatedindividual identification may be based on data 250 representative ofsocial network activity of the user 102, financial transactions executedby the individual 116 and executed by the user 102 at a common vendor(e.g., the vendor 140 of FIG. 1), a financial transaction executedbetween the individual 116 and the user 102, a pattern of common devicelocations, a contact list 208 of the user device 110, a request receivedfrom the user 102, a communication history 212 of the user device 110,any other data that may indicate an affiliation between the user 102 andthe individual 116, or some combination thereof.

Accordingly, the network module 202 may be configured to access and/orrequest the data 250 indicative of an affiliation between the individual116 and the user 102 from the user device 110, the social media server126, the vendor server 130, the financial server 128, or somecombination thereof. In FIG. 2, the access and/or requests arerepresented by requests 252. Additionally, the network module 202 may beconfigured to receive the data 250 (e.g., the contact list 208 or anaffiliated individual message) from the user device 110, the socialmedia server 126, the vendor server 130, the financial server 128, orsome combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the network module 202 may be configured togenerate and communicate the requests 252, which may include API calls.The API calls may include a get subroutine configured to retrieve thedata 250. For example, the network module 202 may communicate an APIcall to the social media server 126. The API call may include a getsubroutine that is configured to retrieve data 250 pertaining to socialnetwork activity that is illustrative of the affiliation between theuser 102 and the individual 116. Additionally or alternatively, thenetwork module 202 may employ a web crawler, another data gatheringapplication, or communicate a petition message to access or request thedata 250.

The network module 202 may request the data 250 pertaining to socialmedia activity of the user 102 from the social media server 126. Thenetwork module 202 may utilize API calls or may access and search asocial network account of the user 102. Some examples of the data 250pertaining to social network activity may include photographs and videosin which the user 102 and the individual 116 are tagged, posts to datafeeds of the individual 116 by the user 102, posts to a data feed of theindividual 116 by the user 102, RSVPs to common calendar events by theuser 102 and the individual 116, and a relationship status (e.g., afriend) of the individual 116 with relation to the user 102.

The network module 202 may be configured to identify affiliatedindividuals based on social media activity of the user 102. The networkmodule 202 may determine whether an affiliation exists between theindividual 116 and the user 102 based on a number of photographs orvideos in which the user 102 and the individual 116 are tagged, afrequency and/or number of posts to a data feed of the individual 116 bythe user 102, a frequency and/or number of posts to a data feed of theuser 102 by the individual 116, a frequency and/or number of RSVPs tocommon calendar events by the user 102 and the individual 116, arelationship status of the individual 116 with relation to the user 102,or some combination thereof. For example, if the individual 116 has arelationship status as being a friend with the user 102 and theindividual 116 and the user 102 have RSVP'd to over a threshold number(e.g., five) events in a particular area, the network module 202 maydetermine an affiliation exists between the individual 116 and the user102. Moreover, the network module 202 may determine that the type ofaffiliation is a social friendship with the individual 116 and the user102 socializing in a particular geographic area.

Additionally, the network module 202 may be configured to identifyaffiliated individuals based on the contact list 208 and/or thecommunication history 212. For instance, the network module 202 mayobtain the contact list 208 and/or the communication history 212 fromthe user device 110. In some embodiments, the network module 202 mayrequest access to the contact list 208 and/or the communication history212. In some embodiments, the user 102 may communicate the contact list208 and/or the communication history 212 to the system server 124. Apresence of the individual 116 in the contact list 208 may be indicativeof an affiliation between the user 102 and the individual 116.

The communication history 212 may include data 250 pertaining to thecommunication history 212 that may be indicative of an affiliationbetween the user 102 and the individual 116. For example, the data 250pertaining to the communication history 212 may include a history oftelephone calls, emails, text messages, and media communications betweenthe individual 116 and the user 102. A determination of whether anaffiliation exists between the individual 116 and the user 102 may bebased on a number and/or frequency of telephone calls, emails, textmessages, and media communications between the individual 116 and theuser 102.

The network module 202 may be configured to identify affiliatedindividuals based on the data 250 pertaining to financial transactions.For instance, the network module 202 may access or request transactionrecords 146 from the financial server 128 and/or the vendor server 130.The network module 202 may parse the transaction records 146 fortransactions between the individual 116 and the user 102 and/ortransactions involving the individual 116 and a vendor and the user 102and the vendor.

Additionally, the vendor server 130 and/or the financial server 128 maycommunicate to the network module 202 an affiliated individual message.The affiliated individual message may simply indicate to the networkmodule 202 that there is a particular affiliation between the individual116 and the user 102. For example, the user 102 may use the financialserver 128 to pay the individual 116. Included in the financialtransaction, there may be an option for the user 102 to select for thefinancial server 128 to send the affiliated individual message, whichmay lead to incorporation of the individual 116 into the event monitornetwork 120 as discussed elsewhere herein.

Based on the data 250 pertaining to financial transactions, the networkmodule 202 may determine whether an affiliation exists. For example, asdiscussed above, an employee/employment affiliation may be determinedfrom transactions between the individual 116 and the user 102. Theemployee/employment affiliations may include, for example, babysitters,house sitters, dog walkers, maintenance personnel, full-time employees,caregivers, or any other type of employee/employer affiliation. Thetransactions to the common vendor may be indicative of a less-formalaffiliation between the individual 116 and the user 102. For instance,if the individual 116 and the user 102 both pay the same landlord (e.g.,the common vendor), then the individual 116 and the user may both liveat the same apartment complex or may be roommates.

The network module 202 may be configured to identify affiliatedindividuals based on device locations and/or patterns of devicelocations. The device locations may be provided by a location module206. In FIG. 2, the trusted device 104 and the user device 110 includethe location module 206. The location module 206 may include a globalpositioning signal (GPS) receiver or network multilaterationcapabilities. The location module 206 may communicate a device locationto the system server 124 and/or the location module 206 may communicatethe device location to the social media server 126. The device locationmay be posted in a data feed of a social network. The network module 202may create a pattern of device location data based on the devicelocations. The network module 202 may then determine that an affiliationexists between the user 102 and the individual 116 based oncommonalities between the patterns of device location data.

In some embodiments, the network module 202 may be configured tocommunicate an API call to the social media server 126. The API call mayinclude a get subroutine that is configured to obtain location data ofthe trusted device 104 associated with the individual 116. The networkmodule 202 may then create the pattern of device location data from thelocation data obtained from the social media server 126.

After the individual 116 is identified as being affiliated with the user102, the network module 202 may incorporate the trusted device 104 intothe event monitor network 120. In some embodiments, the network module202 may communicate one or more messages 254 with the trusted device 104to authorize incorporation of the trusted device 104 into the eventmonitor network 120. For example, the network module 202 may communicatean invitation message to the trusted device 104. The invitation messagemay request incorporation of the trusted device 104 into the eventmonitor network 120.

The trusted device 104 may receive the invitation message. In someembodiments, the trusted device 104 may display the invitation messageon a user interface 220 of the trusted device 104. The individual 116may view the invitation message and respond to it via the user interface220 of the trusted device 104. For example, the trusted device 104 mayreceive at the user interface 220 of the trusted device 104 input thatindicates a preference responsive to the invitation message. The trusteddevice 104 may communicate to the system server 124 a responsive messagethat reflects the preference of the individual 116.

The network module 202 may receive from the trusted device 104, theresponsive message 254 addressing the invitation message 254. Inresponse to the responsive message indicating that the individual 116opts into the event monitor network 120, the network module 202 mayincorporate the trusted device 104 into the event monitor network 120.In response to the responsive message 254 indicating that the individual116 opts outs of the event monitor network 120, the network module 202may not incorporate the trusted device 104 into the event monitornetwork 120. In these and other embodiments, the network module 202 maycommunicate an input sample to the trusted device 104 in response to theresponsive message indicating that the individual 116 opts into theevent monitor network 120.

In some embodiments, the incorporation into the event monitor network120 may be pre-authorized by the individual 116. For example, duringexecution of a transaction using the financial server 128 or the vendorserver 130, the individual 116 may pre-authorize incorporation into theevent monitor network 120. In these and other embodiments, the networkmodule 202 may communicate an input sample to the trusted device 104with the invitation message.

In embodiments in which one or more operations attributed herein to thesystem module 118 are performed by the user module 108, messages 254 maybe communicated between the trusted device 104 and the user module 108.Additionally, some portion of the data 250 and/or requests 252 may becommunicated with the user module 108.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of event monitoring 300 that may beimplemented in in the operating environment 100 of FIG. 1. FIG. 3includes the protection system 150 of FIG. 1 and a monitored event 302.In general, the monitor module 204 of the system module 118 may beconfigured for event monitoring. The monitor module 204 may beconfigured to identify the particular input 308 that suggest theoccurrence of the monitored event 302.

The monitored event 302 may include any event or set of events thatproduces an identifiable and observable particular input. Some examplesof the monitored event 302 may include a property endangerment such as acar theft, fire, earthquake, burglary; a failure of a component such asa water heater, smoke detector, power system, utility piping, carbonmonoxide detector; or distress of a pet or an individual such as achild, older person, or disabled person. Generally, these examples ofthe monitored event 302 produce or result in an audio alarm, a visualalarm, or another particular physical phenomenon. The audio alarm, thevisual alarm, or the other particular physical phenomenon may be theparticular input 308 identified by the monitor module 204 because itsuggests the occurrence of the monitored event 302. Accordingly, theparticular input 308 may include a noise of a specific frequency,amplitude, and duration; a light flashing at a particular intensity orfrequency; a voice of a person or a pet at an amplitude; silence for aduration; light associated with fire or an explosion; and the like.

After the trusted devices 104 are incorporated into the event monitornetwork 120, the monitor module 204 may be configured to communicate tothe trusted devices 104 an input sample 320. The input sample 320 may beused for recognition of the particular input 308 from general input 306that may be measured by one or more sensors 310 of the trusted devices104. For example, the input sample 320 may include a digital file withspecifications of the particular input 308, an example of the particularinput 308, a threshold above which the general input 306 is deemed theparticular input 308, or some combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the monitor module 204 may be configured to monitorfor multiple monitored events (e.g., 302). In embodiments in which themonitor module 204 is configured to monitor for multiple monitoredevents, multiple particular inputs may be identified and multiple inputsamples (e.g., 320) may be communicated. The monitor module 204 may beconfigured to receive or generate a first input sample that may be usedfor recognition of a first particular input (e.g., 308) that suggeststhe occurrence of a first monitored event and a second input sample thatmay be used for recognition of a second particular input that suggeststhe occurrence of a second monitored event.

In some embodiments, the monitor module 204 may be configured tocommunicate different input samples to different trusted devices. Forexample, the monitor module 204 may communicate the first input sampleto the first trusted device 104A and may communicate the second inputsample to the second trusted device 104B.

Additionally or alternatively, the different input samples that may becommunicated to different trusted devices may be based on determinedtypes of affiliations between individuals associated therewith and theuser 102. For example, a determined affiliation between an individualassociated with the first trusted device 104A may include being aneighbor, the first monitored event may include a fire, and the firstinput sample may include a sample of a fire alarm in a house of the user102. Additionally, a determined affiliation of an individual associatedwith the second trusted device 104B and the user 102 may include anemployee/employer affiliation in which the individual is a babysitterfor a child of the user 102, the second monitored event may include thechild having an asthma attack, and the second input sample may include asample of the child's cough at a particular amplitude for a particulartime. Accordingly, the monitor module 204 may communicate the firstinput sample to the neighbor and the second input sample to thebabysitter.

The TD modules 106 of the trusted devices 104 may receive thecorresponding input sample 320. The input sample 320 may be stored onthe trusted devices 104. The sensors 310 of the trusted devices 104 maybe configured to measure the general input 306. In some embodiments,measuring the general input 306 may be substantially passive. Forexample, a particular sensor 310 may include a microphone and themicrophone may remain operational without action by the individualsassociated with the trusted devices. Additionally, the sensors 310 maybe periodically activated (e.g., transitioned to an on state) at someinterval such as every two minutes. Additionally, while the sensors 310are being used for another function (e.g., a telephone call), thegeneral input 306 may be being evaluated by the TD module 106. In someembodiments, the TD module 106 may be configured to direct the measuringof the general input 306.

The TD module 106 may be configured to compare the general input 306 tothe input sample 320. In response to a relationship between the generalinput 306 and the input sample 320 being above a particular threshold,the TD module 106 may determine that the general input 306 includes theparticular input 308. The TD module 106 may then generate an eventmessage that indicates the occurrence of the monitored event 302, whichin some embodiments may be communicated to the system server 124 by therespective trusted device 104.

The monitor module 204 may be configured to receive the event messages322. In response to reception of the event messages 322, the monitormodule 204 may communicate to the user device 110 an alarm message 324.The alarm message 324 may be further communicated to the user interface210 of the user device 110.

In some embodiments, in response to reception of multiple event messages322 from more than one of the trusted devices 104, the monitor module204 may determine or access device locations of each of the trusteddevices 104 at the time the particular input 308 was observed. Based onthe locations of each of the trusted devices 104, the monitor module 204may determine or confirm that a source of the observed particular inputincludes an event location associated with the monitored event 302 thatalso corresponds with a location associated with the user for whom thetrusted devices may be performing the monitoring. In some embodiment,the event messages 322 may include the device location of the trusteddevice 104 communicating the event message 322.

The location associated with the monitored event 302 may include ageographic location where the monitored event 302 is likely to occur ifthe monitored event 302 is indeed related to the user 102. For example,the monitored event 302 may include an attempted car theft of a car thatis parked at a house of the user 102. Many car alarms sound alike.Accordingly, the event messages 322 communicated from each of thetrusted devices 104A and 104B may have observed the particular input 308(e.g., the car alarm) that suggests that the car is being stolen. Themonitor module 204 may access the device locations of the trusteddevices 104 to determine and confirm that the trusted devices 104 werein a general proximity of the house to confirm that the monitored event302 was observed with respect to the car of the user 102 rather than thetheft of another car.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example computing device 400. The computing device400 may be configured for event monitoring, arranged in accordance withat least one embodiment described herein. The computing device 400 mayinclude one or more processors 404, a memory 406, a data storage 408that includes a protection module 412, a communication unit 402, and auser interface 414. Some examples of the computing device 400 mayinclude the user device 110, the system server 124, and the trusteddevice 104 discussed elsewhere herein. Accordingly, the protectionmodule 412 may include the TD module 106, the system module 118, theuser module 108, some portions thereof, or some combination thereof andthe protection module 412 may be configured to perform one or moreoperations variously attributed thereto.

The processor 404 may include any suitable special-purpose orgeneral-purpose computer, computing entity, or processing deviceincluding various computer hardware or software modules and may beconfigured to execute instructions stored on any applicablecomputer-readable storage media. For example, the processor 404 mayinclude a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor(DSP), an ASIC, a FPGA, or any other digital or analog circuitryconfigured to interpret and/or to execute program instructions and/or toprocess data. Although illustrated as a single processor in FIG. 4, itis understood that the processor 404 may include any number ofprocessors configured to perform individually or collectively any numberof operations described herein. Additionally, one or more of theprocessors may be present on one or more different electronic devices.In some embodiments, the processor 404 may interpret and/or executeprogram instructions and/or process data stored in the memory 406, thedata storage 408, or the memory 406 and the data storage 408. In someembodiments, the processor 404 may fetch program instructions from thedata storage 408 and load the program instructions in the memory 406.After the program instructions are loaded into memory 406, the processor404 may execute the program instructions.

The memory 406 and data storage 408 may include computer-readablestorage media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions ordata structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable storage media mayinclude any available media that may be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, such as the processor 404. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable storage media may includetangible or non-transitory computer-readable storage media includingRandom Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Compact Disc Read-OnlyMemory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, flash memory devices (e.g., solid statememory devices), or any other storage medium which may be used to carryor store desired program code in the form of computer-executableinstructions or data structures and that may be accessed by ageneral-purpose or special-purpose computer. Combinations of the abovemay also be included within the scope of computer-readable storagemedia. Computer-executable instructions may include, for example,instructions and data configured to cause the processor 404 to perform acertain operation or group of operations.

The communication unit 402 may include one or more pieces of hardwareconfigured to receive and send communications. In some embodiments, thecommunication unit 402 may include one or more of: an antenna, a wiredport, and modulation/demodulation hardware, among other communicationhardware devices. In particular, the communication unit 402 may beconfigured to receive a communication from outside the device 400 and topresent the communication to the processor 404 for event monitoring orto send a communication from the processor 404 to another device ornetwork.

The user interface 414 may include one or more pieces of hardwareconfigured to notify a user of the device 400 of a communication,present a communication to a user, or to notify a user of acommunication and present the communication to the user. In someembodiments, the user interface 414 may include one or more of: aspeaker, a microphone, a display, a keyboard, and a touch screen, amongother hardware devices. In these and other embodiments, the userinterface 414 may also be configured to receive input from a user of thedevice 400. The user input may include selecting, inputting, orinputting and selecting user preferences, among other information.

The protection module 412 may include program instructions stored in thedata storage 408. The processor 404 may be configured to load theprotection module 412 into the memory 406 and execute the protectionmodule 412. When executing the protection module 412, the processor 404may be configured to perform operations of event monitoring as describedelsewhere herein.

In view of this disclosure, it will be appreciated that modifications,additions, or omissions may be made to the device 400 without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in someembodiments, the device 400 may not include the user interface 414. Inthese and other embodiments, the device 400 may be a server or othercomputing device or system that monitors for occurrence of monitoredevents using the communication unit 402. In some embodiments, thedifferent components of the device 400 may be physically separate may becommunicatively coupled via any suitable mechanism. For example, thedata storage 408 may be part of a storage device that is separate from aserver, which includes the processor 404, the memory 406, and thecommunication unit 402, that is communicatively coupled to the storagedevice.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a flowchart of an example method 500 of eventmonitoring, which may be arranged in accordance with at least oneembodiment described herein. The method 500 may be implemented, in someembodiments, by a computing device or computing system, such as the userdevice 110 or the system server 124 discussed herein or the computingdevice 400 discussed with reference to FIG. 4. In some embodiments, theuser device 110, the system server 124, or the computing device 400 mayinclude or may be communicatively coupled to a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium (e.g., the memory 406 of FIG. 4) having storedthereon programming code or instructions (e.g., the protection module412 of FIG. 4) that are executable by a processor (e.g., the processor404 of FIG. 4) to cause the user device 110, the system server 124, orthe computing device 400 to perform the method 500. Additionally oralternatively, user device 110, the system server 124, or the computingdevice 400 may include the processor 404 described above that isconfigured to execute computer instructions to cause the user device110, the system server 124, or the computing device 400 or anothercomputing device to perform the method 500. Although illustrated asdiscrete blocks, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks,combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desiredimplementation.

With reference to FIG. 5A, the method 500 may begin at block 502. Atblock 502, one or more individuals that are affiliated with a user maybe identified. In some embodiments, an affiliation with the user isbased on social network activity of the user, financial transactionsexecuted by the individual and executed by the user at a common vendor,a financial transaction executed between an individual and the user, apattern of common device locations, a contact list of the user device, arequest received from the user, a communication history of the userdevice, or some combination thereof.

In some embodiments, block 502 may include one or more of blocks502A-502G. Each of blocks 502A-502G may include a process or sub-processthat may be included in block 502. At block 502A, an API call may becommunicated to a social media server. The API call may include a getsubroutine that is configured to retrieve data pertaining to socialnetwork activity that may be illustrative of the affiliation between theuser and the individual. The data pertaining to the social mediaactivity may include photographs and videos in which the user and theindividual are tagged, posts to a data feeds of the individual and theuser, RSVPs to a calendar events by the user and the individual, arelationship status of the individual with relation to the use, or somecombination thereof.

At block 502B, a contact list may be downloaded. For example, thecontact list may be downloaded from a user device. At block 502C, datapertaining to a communication history may be downloaded. The datapertaining to the communication history may include telephone calls,emails, text messages, and media communications between the individualand the user.

At block 502D, data pertaining to financial transactions may be parsedfor transactions between the individual and the user. At block 502E,data pertaining to financial transactions may be parsed for transactionsinvolving the individual and a vendor and the user and the vendor.

At block 502F, an API call may be communicated to a social media server.The API call may include a get subroutine that is configured to obtainlocation data of a device associated with the individual. At block 502G,a pattern of device location data may be created of the deviceassociated with the individual.

At block 504, one or more trusted devices associated with the identifiedindividuals may be incorporated into an event monitor network. The eventmonitor network may be configured to monitor for an occurrence of amonitored event and that is specific to the user. In some embodiments,incorporation of the trusted devices may include communicating to thetrusted devices, an invitation message that requests incorporation ofthe trusted devices into the event monitor network and receiving fromone or more the trusted devices, a responsive message addressing theinvitation message. In response to the responsive message indicatingthat the individual associated with the trusted devices opts into theevent monitor network, the trusted device may be incorporated into theevent monitor network. In response to the responsive message indicatingthat the individual opts outs of the event monitor network, the trusteddevice may not be incorporated into the event monitor network.

With reference to FIG. 5B, at block 506, a particular input may beidentified that suggest the occurrence of the monitored event. Theparticular input may include, for example, an audio alarm, a vocalexpression, a visual alarm, a vibration, and a visual display. At block508, an input sample may be communicated to the trusted devices. Theinput sample may be used for recognition of the particular input fromgeneral input that is measured by sensors of the trusted devices. Insome embodiments, the input sample communicated to one or more of thetrusted devices may be based on types of determined affiliations betweenindividuals and the user.

The sensors may include, for example, a microphone, a camera, avibration sensor, a smart lens, or some combination thereof. At block510, an event message may be received. The event message may indicatethe particular input is observed by one of the sensors of the trusteddevices.

At block 512, an alarm message may be communicated to a user interfacein response to reception of the event message. The alarm message mayindicate the occurrence of the monitored event. At block 514, devicelocations of one or more the trusted devices may be determined. In someembodiments, the device locations may be determined in response toreception of multiple event messages from more than one of the trusteddevices.

At block 516, it may be determined that a source of the observedparticular input includes an event location associated with the user.The determination may be based on the devices locations of one or moreof the trusted devices. In some embodiments, such determination may beused to confirm that the observed particular input does not originate atan source that is unrelated to the user.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that, for this and otherprocesses and methods disclosed herein, the functions performed in theprocesses and methods may be implemented in differing order.Furthermore, the outlined steps and operations are only provided asexamples, and some of the steps and operations may be optional, combinedinto fewer steps and operations, or expanded into additional steps andoperations without detracting from the essence of the disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another example method 600 of event monitoring,which may be arranged in accordance with at least one embodimentdescribed herein. The method 600 may be implemented, in someembodiments, by a computing device or computing system, such as thetrusted device 104 discussed herein or the computing device 400discussed with reference to FIG. 4. In some embodiments, the trusteddevice 104 or the computing device 400 may include or may becommunicatively coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium(e.g., the memory 406 of FIG. 4) having stored thereon programming codeor instructions (e.g., the protection module 412 of FIG. 4) that areexecutable by a processor (e.g., the processor 404 of FIG. 4) to causethe trusted device 104 or the computing device 400 to perform the method600. Additionally or alternatively, the trusted device 104 or thecomputing device 400 may include the processor 404 described above thatis configured to execute computer instructions to cause the trusteddevice 104 or the computing device 400 or another computing device toperform the method 600. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, variousblocks may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewerblocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation.

The method 600 may begin at block 602. At block 602, an invitationmessage may be received. The invitation message may requestincorporation of a device into the event monitor network. At block 604,the invitation message may be displayed to a user interface. At block606, input that may be used to select a preference responsive to theinvitation message may be received. The input may be received at theuser interface of a trusted device in some implementations.

At block 608, a responsive message may be communicated that reflects thepreference. At block 610, an input sample may be received. The inputsample may be used for recognition of a particular input from generalinput that is measured by a sensor. The particular input may suggest theoccurrence of a monitored event. The sensor may include, for example, amicrophone, a camera, a vibration sensor, and a smart lens. Theparticular input may include, for example, an audio alarm, a vocalexpression, a visual alarm, a vibration, and a visual display.

At block 612, general input may be measured. In some embodiments,measuring the general input includes passively measuring the generalinput without action by the individual, periodically activating thesensor, and measuring the general input while the sensor is being usedfor another function.

At block 614, the general input may be compared to the input sample. Atblock 616, it may be determined whether a relationship between thegeneral input and the input sample is above a particular threshold.

In response to the relationship between the general input and the inputsample being below a particular threshold (“No” at block 616), themethod may proceed to block 612. In response to the relationship betweenthe general input and the input sample being above a particularthreshold (“YES” at block 616), the method may proceed to block 618. Atblock 618, it may be determined that the general input includes theparticular input. At block 620, an event message may be communicated.The event message may indicate the occurrence of the monitored event.

In some embodiments, another input sample may be received forrecognition of another particular input that suggests the occurrence ofanother monitored event. The general input may be compared to the otherinput sample. In response to a relationship between the general inputand the other input sample being above a particular threshold, it may bedetermined that the general input includes the other particular inputand an event message may be communicated that indicates the occurrenceof the other monitored event.

As indicated above, the embodiments described herein may include the useof a special purpose or general purpose computer (e.g., the processor404 of FIG. 4) including various computer hardware or software modules,as discussed in greater detail below. Further, as indicated above,embodiments described herein may be implemented using computer-readablemedia (e.g., the memory 406 of FIG. 4) for carrying or havingcomputer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon.

As used herein, the terms “module” or “component” may refer to specifichardware implementations configured to perform the actions of the moduleor component and/or software objects or software routines that may bestored on and/or executed by general purpose hardware (e.g.,computer-readable media, processing devices, etc.) of the computingsystem. In some embodiments, the different components, modules, engines,and services described herein may be implemented as objects or processesthat execute on the computing system (e.g., as separate threads). Whilesome of the system and methods described herein are generally describedas being implemented in software (stored on and/or executed by generalpurpose hardware), specific hardware implementations or a combination ofsoftware and specific hardware implementations are also possible andcontemplated. In this description, a “computing entity” may be anycomputing system as previously defined herein, or any module orcombination of modulates running on a computing system.

Terms used herein and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies ofthe appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., theterm “including” should be interpreted as “including, but not limitedto,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” theterm “includes” should be interpreted as “includes, but is not limitedto,” etc.).

Additionally, if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation isintended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and inthe absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example,as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may containusage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” tointroduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should notbe construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by theindefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containingsuch introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one”or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articlesused to introduce claim recitations.

In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitationis explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that suchrecitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, and C, etc.” or “one or more of A, B, and C, etc.” isused, in general such a construction is intended to include A alone, Balone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, orA, B, and C together, etc. For example, the use of the term “and/or” isintended to be construed in this manner.

Further, any disjunctive word or phrase presenting two or morealternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings,should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including oneof the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, thephrase “A or B” should be understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the invention andthe concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and areto be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recitedexamples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present disclosurehave been described in detail, it should be understood that the variouschanges, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of event monitoring comprising:identifying, by a first computing device, a monitored event thatproduces a physical phenomenon that is observable and identifiable;identifying, by the first computing device, a particular input that isrepresentative of the physical phenomenon and that suggests anoccurrence of the monitored event; communicating, from the firstcomputing device, to a second computing device that includes a sensor atleast a portion of the particular input that is used for recognition ofthe monitored event in an environment of the second computing device bythe sensor; receiving, at the first computing device from the secondcomputing device, an event message that indicates the particular inputis observed by the sensor; and in response to reception of the eventmessage, generating, by the first computing device, an alarm messagethat indicates the occurrence of the monitored event is observed in theenvironment of the second computing device.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising incorporating the second computing device into anevent monitor network that includes a plurality of additional devicesthat are each configured to monitor for the occurrence of the monitoredevent.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: communicating tothe second computing device, an invitation message that requestsincorporation of the second computing device into the event monitornetwork; and receiving from the second computing device, a responsivemessage addressing the invitation message, wherein the incorporating thesecond computing device into the event monitor network is performed inresponse to the responsive message indicating that an individualassociated with the second computing device elects to participate in theevent monitor network.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein each of theadditional devices in the plurality of additional devices stores theportion of the particular input that is used for recognition of themonitored event.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: inresponse to reception of the event message, determining a devicelocation of the second computing device; and based on the devicelocation, determining an event location associated with the monitoredevent.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying anindividual who is associated with the second computing device, whereinthe identifying the individual includes one or more operations selectedfrom a group of operations including: downloading a contact list;downloading data pertaining to a communication history; parsing datapertaining to financial transactions for one or more transactions;parsing data pertaining to financial transactions for transactionsinvolving a particular vendor; communicating to a social media server,an API call including a get subroutine that is configured to obtainlocation data of the second computing device; and creating a pattern ofdevice location data of the second computing device.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the data pertaining to the communication historyincludes one or more data types selected from a group of data typesincluding: a number of telephone calls, emails, text messages, and mediacommunications; and a frequency of telephone calls, emails, textmessages, and media communications.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising identifying an individual who is associated with the secondcomputing device, wherein: the identifying the individual includescommunicating to a social media server, an application programminginterface (API) call including a get subroutine that is configured toretrieve data pertaining to social network activity that is illustrativeof an affiliation of the individual; and the data pertaining to thesocial network activity includes one or more data types selected from agroup of data types including: a number of photographs in which theindividual is tagged, a number of videos in which the individual istagged, a frequency of posts to a data feed by the individual, a numberof posts to a data feed by the individual, a frequency of posts to adata feed by the individual, a frequency of RSVPs to common calendarevents by the individual, a number of RSVPs to common calendar events bythe individual, and a relationship status of the individual.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the sensor includes: a microphone, a camera,a vibration sensor, or a smart lens.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: identifying a second monitored event that produces a secondphysical phenomenon that is observable and identifiable; identifying asecond particular input that is representative of the second physicalphenomenon and that suggests an occurrence of the second monitoredevent; communicating, to the second computing device, at least a portionof the second particular input that is used for recognition of thesecond monitored event in the environment of the second computing deviceby the sensor; receiving, from the second computing device, a secondevent message that indicates the second particular input is observed bythe sensor; and in response to reception of the second event message,generating a second alarm message that indicates the occurrence of thesecond monitored event is observed in the environment of the secondcomputing device, wherein: the monitored event includes a firstmonitored event of a plurality of monitored events; and the secondmonitored event is different from the first monitored event.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a second monitoredevent that produces a second physical phenomenon that is observable andidentifiable; identifying a second particular input that isrepresentative of the second physical phenomenon and that suggests anoccurrence of the second monitored event; communicating to a thirdcomputing device at least a portion of the second particular input,wherein the third computing device includes a sensor, and the secondparticular input is used for recognition of the second monitored eventin the environment of the third computing device by the sensor of thethird computing device; receiving, from the third computing device, asecond event message that indicates the second particular input isobserved by the sensor of the third computing device; and in response toreception of the second event message, generating a second alarm messagethat indicates the occurrence of the second monitored event is observedin the environment of the third computing device, wherein: the monitoredevent includes a first monitored event of a plurality of monitoredevents; the first computing device is associated with a firstindividual; the second computing device is associated with a secondindividual; the third computing device is associated with a thirdindividual; the second monitored event is different from the firstmonitored event; the particular input is first particular input; thecommunicating the first particular input to the first computing deviceis based on a first type of affiliation between the first individual andthe second individual; and the communicating the second particular inputto the third computing device is based on a second type of affiliationbetween the first individual and the third individual.
 12. One or morenon-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more programs thatare configured, in response to execution by one or more processors, tocause a system to execute or control the execution of the method asrecited in claim
 1. 13. A method of event monitoring, comprising:receiving, from a first computing device, a portion of a particularinput for recognition of an occurrence of a monitored event in anenvironment of a second computing device by a sensor of the secondcomputing device, wherein the particular input is representative of aphysical phenomenon produced by an occurrence of the monitored event;determining, by the second computing device, that the monitored eventoccurred in an environment of the second computing device; andcommunicating to the first computing device, an event message thatindicates the occurrence of the monitored event in the environment ofthe second computing device.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: receiving, at the second computing device, an invitationmessage that requests incorporation of the second computing device intoan event monitor network that is configured to monitor for theoccurrence of the monitored event; displaying the invitation message toa user interface of the second computing device; receiving, at the userinterface, input used to select a preference responsive to theinvitation message; and communicating to the first computing device, aresponsive message that reflects the preference.
 15. The method of claim14, wherein the event monitor network includes a plurality of additionaldevices that are each configured to monitor for the occurrence of themonitored event.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of theadditional devices in the plurality of additional devices stores theportion of the particular input that is used for recognition of themonitored event.
 17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:measuring, by the second computing device, general input by the sensor;comparing, by the second computing device, the measured general input tothe received portion of the particular input; and determining, by thesecond computing device, whether a relationship between the measuredgeneral input and the received portion of the particular input is abovea particular threshold, wherein the communicating the event messageoccurs in response to the relationship between the measured generalinput and the received portion of the particular input being above theparticular threshold.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the measuringincludes: passively measuring the general input without action by anindividual associated with the second computing device; periodicallyactivating the sensor; and measuring the general input while the sensoris being used for another function.
 19. The method of claim 13, whereinthe particular input includes an audio alarm, a vocal expression, avisual alarm, a vibration, or a visual display.
 20. One or morenon-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more programs thatare configured, when executed, to cause one or more processors toexecute or control execution of the method as recited in claim 13.